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11.26.2012

Quote of the Week: Beauty

Quote of the Week: November 26, 2012

Ok, people, this one's important. I mean, all these quotes are important, but this one is one I often forget.

I recall watching Bill Cunningham New York and among the hundreds of moments in the documentary that I was moved by (maybe even thousands, really), I recall these words. He finishes his acceptance speech of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Minister of Culture with this line and I sat there with tears in my eyes...alone, with Mr. Merlin, on my couch at 5pm on a Tuesday evening. (I may or may not have been emotionally eating Ritz Crackers.)

Mr. Cunningham is one of my heros. A man who does what he loves. He doesn't work so much as live his "job." And it's about finding beauty.

Of course, in his case, it's often fashion-based, which he does artfully, with love, passion, and enthusiasm. I realize not everyone is fashion-inclined, but that doesn't mean that this quote lacks weight. Beauty isn't just a surface characteristic. (I sufficiently ranted & raved about this concept in What Did You Call Me?!)

There is so much more to beauty...and it's often something that you have to seek to find. The beauty that you discover may be the most rewarding...the most moving...the most inspirational. The point is, you need to look for it. Sure, there's beauty all around us...but there's even more beauty if you go after it.

There is beauty in my husbands laughter...especially when he's doubled over in hysterics.
There is beauty in my mother's insistence that she needs to mend the loose buttons on my coat...even now.
There is beauty in the sliver of blue sky I wake up to almost every weekend morning, peeking out from behind my blinds.
There is beauty in the cookie my friend surprises me with to make me feel better.
There is beauty in the phone call my father makes when he's worried because he hasn't received any emails from me lately.
Beauty in singing in the car on the way to work.
Beauty in the way my dog's whiskers tickle me when he nuzzles up close.